The FSU Colloquia

Overview
The First-Year FSU Colloquium
The Advanced FSU Colloquium
Faculty Submittal of Proposals

Overview
The FSU Colloquia have been created to help students “Foster a Sense of Understanding” about the inherent interdisciplinarity of the world in which they live. In its report on the issues facing higher education in the twenty-first century, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2002) notes, “Our nation goes to college because the world is complex, interconnected, and more reliant on knowledge than ever before” (p. 2). Society does not exist in discrete disciplinary silos; as a result, the University has the responsibility to help students develop the skills necessary to consider a topic or issue from a variety of perspectives.

Interdisciplinary courses like the Colloquia also support the University’s concept of liberal education as espoused in its Statement on Liberal Education. Furthermore, research has shown (e.g., Newell, 1994) that “students in high-quality interdisciplinary courses are consistently reported to develop the traditional liberal arts skills of precision and clarity in reading, writing, speaking, and thinking; to confront challenges to their assumptions about themselves and their world; and to develop the habit of asking ‘why’ instead of merely memorizing accepted facts” (p. 35). In addition, interdisciplinary experiences support University learning goals and general education learning goals for critical thinking and synthesis.

Therefore, FSU considers as interdisciplinary courses those organized to integrate insights from multiple perspectives about a current issue, theme, problem, cultural or historical period, world area or national region, or other unifying principle.

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2002). Greater expectations: A new vision for learning as a nation goes to college. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Newell, W. (1994). Designing interdisciplinary courses. New directions for teaching and learning (58), pp. 35-51.

The First-Year FSU Colloquium
The First-Year FSU Colloquium, an option in a student’s program of general education that ideally should be completed within his/her first thirty hours, will have as its primary goal the modeling by faculty of diverse approaches and the integration of those approaches in consideration of an inherently interdisciplinary course topic. In the early stages of students’ college careers, modeling the ambiguities and the search for resolutions in interdisciplinary thought is particularly valuable as a precursor to the types of connections they will be expected to make in their studies.

The course is currently an option for a general education elective; beginning in fall 2007, it will be required of all students.

The Advanced FSU Colloquium
The Advanced FSU Colloquium, available as an option in general education to undergraduate students who have completed forty-five credit hours, employs a pedagogical model predicated on inquiry-based learning. In comparison to the First-Year FSU Colloquium, which focuses on considering a complex, determined topic from multiple disciplinary perspectives, an inquiry centered colloquium emphasizes that “Disciplinary connections and perspectives are not sought as ends in themselves, but rather as tools for making sense of a problem” (Finkel, 2001, p. 217).

In an inquiry-centered colloquium, the focus shifts from the teacher’s modeling of interdisciplinarity to the students’ development of knowing through interdisciplinary thought and exploration, including research.

An example question of inquiry illustrates the structure of an Advanced FSU Colloquium and demonstrates how such a course can facilitate such intellectual growth. In a colloquium that examines post-September 11 social structures, the question of inquiry may be posed as follows: “How can a modern society balance issues of personal safety, national security, and individual freedom?” Students then consider a variety of indicators in their search to build a coherent response to a single complex issue. Ultimately, each student develops a personal integration of experience, research, and opinion, creating a distinct achievement unique to each student. Because the Advanced FSU Colloquium is scheduled at a time in students’ academic careers when they have completed the majority of courses in general education and have usually begun their majors (after the completion of forty-five credit hours), the Colloquium provides a further opportunity to support students’ intellectual development, offering the opportunity to view, through research and personal exploration, an issue from the context of their major disciplines in relation to the larger world.

Other examples of an inquiry-based Colloquium include:

• American Culture: “How will the increase in the Latino population impact the United States?”
• Economics and the Environment: “How should we balance economic prosperity and environmental protection?”
• Globalism: “How can we create an “interdependent global community?”

Finkel, D. (2001). Should the teacher know the answer? Two ways to organize interdisciplinary study around inquiry. In B. Smith and J. McCann (Eds.), Reinventing ourselves: Interdisciplinary education, collaborative learning, and experimentation in higher education (pp. 212-229). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.

Faculty Submittal of Proposals
All members of the FSU faculty are invited to submit proposals for both First-Year and Advanced FSU Colloquia. Click here for proposal guidelines & forms.